The Indian silico manganese market has turned bullish after exports demand has picked up. Major exporters are booked till the next two months. Domestic producers are also supplying, but in limited quantities, in the spot market. Thus, the latter is tight on supply at present.
Current assessments are at INR 90,000/tonne (t) both in Raipur and Durgapur, with many producers quoting even higher prices.
Meanwhile, due to the uncertainty over oxygen supply, producers with long-term contracts are trying to honour only the existing orders, keeping the inventory for such commitments.
Key highlights of the week
South African semi-carbonated prices stable: South African semi-carbonated block prices remained the same week-on-week (w-o-w), while manganese ore from Gabon and Australia dipped by up to 5% w-o-w. The market anticipated that the prices would further increase, but the dip in ore prices regulated the alloys market.
Silico manganese prices increase: Indian silico manganese prices increased throughout last week on increased supply shortage. Although the oxygen shortage has not hampered production yet, the supply-demand mismatch has driven the prices to such highs. Producers reported that they are sitting on a comfortable number of orders and the traders are also buying at such high prices, making the market further optimistic about future price increases.
Exports demand higher: There is good demand from the exports market in terms of the next quarter’s procurement. However, Indian suppliers remain booked and are offering premiums for immediate dispatches. Most of the export orders are being concluded for Aug-Sep’21 shipments at present. The prices in the exports market remained stable at $1,250/t for the 60-14 grade and $1,350/t for the 65-16 grade. However, the prices are still on the higher side as the Indian rupee is appreciating against the US dollar, making the ex-plant realisation lesser.
Outlook
Producers are waiting for MOIL’s manganese ore price revision, as they anticipate some reduction in prices in line with international prices.
However, increasing domestic prices of alloys might also influence domestic ore prices. Manganese alloys smelters are also speculating demand to go up further as oxygen supply increases and closed induction units restart.
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